Northwest Kidney CEO Wins Healthcare Excellence Honor

OLYMPIA, Wash.—Joyce F. Jackson, president and chief executive officer of Northwest Kidney Centers in Seattle, has been named the recipient of Washington’s 2009 Warren Featherstone Reid Award for Excellence in Healthcare.

The annual award is presented to healthcare providers and facilities in Washington that exhibit exceptional quality and value in the delivery of health services, according to Washington State Department of Health.

“Your leadership and dedication to Northwest Kidney Centers, as well as its patients and the local community, exemplifies the very spirit of this award,” Washington Gov. Chris Gregoire wrote in a letter to Jackson notifying her that she would receive the award.

Secretary of Health Mary Selecky presented the award to Jackson on Nov. 20 in Seattle.

“Feather” Reid, whom the award is named after, served under Sen. Warren G. Magnuson for almost 20 years, advising Congress on initiatives such as Medicare and Medicaid and working to expand federal support for research. He later became chairman of the Washington State Board of Health. In 1994 the Washington Legislature honored Reid by creating this annual award.

“Northwest Kidney Centers is a leader in treating patients, along with research and education,” said Selecky. “Joyce Jackson has worked for more than a decade to improve the outlook for people with kidney disease.”

Jackson joined Northwest Kidney Centers as president and CEO in 1998, after 15 years as an administrator at Virginia Mason Medical Center. Jackson has worked to improve healthcare for kidney patients on a regional, state, and national level, through community benefit services, public education and treatment of kidney problems, support for sound public policy on behalf of kidney patients, and fostering research to cure kidney disease.

“I am deeply honored to receive this award,” Jackson said. “Like Feather Reid, I strongly believe in creating healthcare policy that helps people lead lives that are as full, healthy and independent as possible. Like places around the world, Washington State now faces an epidemic of kidney disease, fueled by increases in diabetes and high blood pressure. My organization, Northwest Kidney Centers, will continue to care for people whose kidneys have failed, help others avoid or slow down kidney disease, and apply the best science to stop kidney disease once and for all.”